sin. We cannot repent of our sins until we see them, and we cannot see them without the help of God's grace. 'GOD resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble;' the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to convince the soul of sin, cannot find entrance into a heart filled with pride.

2. 'Faithful are the wounds of a friend.' Our truest and best friends are those who point out honestly our faults. We should esteem very highly so real a mark of friendship, and accept reproof with gratitude and humility.

3. It is quite possible to possess very high spiritual privileges, and yet to be Christians in name only. The greatest hindrance to the spread of Christianity among the heathen arises from the bad lives of professing Christians, who are sometimes guilty of sins of which the very heathen are ashamed. We should examine ourselves very frequently as to whether we are walking worthy of our high calling, whether our life is in accordance with our profession, praying often, 'O, cleanse Thou me from my secret faults—keep Thy servant also from presumptuous sins, lest they should get the dominion over me.'

LESSON XXXVII.

Repentance and Reconciliation.

Read Acts xx. 2–5 ; 2 Cor. vii. 5-16; parts of chs. viii. and ix. Learn 2 Cor. v. 20; vii. 10, 11.

1. Return of Titus (2 Cor. vii. 5-16).

S. Paul appears to have left Ephesus directly after the Feast of Pentecost, and to have paid his farewell visit to the Ephesian Elders just after the Passover, the following year (1 Cor. xvi. 8; Acts xx. 6, 16, 17). Very brief is the record S. Luke gives of these ten months spent in the cities of Macedonia and Greece.

Arrived in Macedonia, no doubt at Philippi, among his kindest friends (Phil. i. 7 ; iv. 1, 15), yet not meeting Titus there, S. Paul grew more and more uneasy. Without were fightings, within were fears' (2 Cor. vii. 5). At length this suspense came to an end, and the Apostle was gladdened by the return of Titus from Corinth, bringing the glad news that the Corinthians had received him with 'fear and trembling,' that they had exercised a 'godly sorrow' for those sins which had called forth his rebukes, and this godly sorrow had resulted in amendment of life; in 'carefulness,' ' zeal,'' vehement desire,' ' obedience' (2 Cor. vii. 6-15). Still there was a dark side to the picture. Some there were who still opposed and calumniated the great Apostle, despising his authority, and spreading slanderous reports (2 Cor. iii. 1; v. 11; vii. 2, 3 ; x. 10; xi. 18-20).

Very solemn are the threatenings and the warnings addressed to those who still opposed themselves (2 Cor. x. 10, 11; xii. 20, 21; xiii. 2, 10), while to those who had repented, his messages are full of comfort and encouragement, and assurances of his love and sympathy (2 Cor. i. 3–7; ii. 2-5; vii. 3-16). This letter was sent by Titus, who returned to

Corinth to finish the good work which had been begun there (2 Cor. vii. 6), while S. Paul himself stayed on for several months in the cities of Macedonia, extending the field of his labours as far as Illyricum, a country to the north-east of Macedonia, which place he mentions as the furthest point of his missionary journeys at this time (Rom. xv. 19).

2. Visit to Corinth (Acts xx. 3).

His mission in Macedonia ended, S. Paul paid his second visit to Corinth. We are told very little of his doings during the three months spent in that city. We know that he lodged with the hospitable Gaius (Rom xvi. 23), and that he was surrounded, for a brief period, by those who were specially dear to him-Timothy, Titus, and S. Luke; Jason, Aristarchus Secundus, and many more of his tried and faithful companions, being with him during this period. A holy and peaceful time it must have been, and though there was much to set in order in the Corinthian Church itself, yet S. Paul found time during these three months to write two Epistles, the Epistle to the Galatians, and the Epistle to the Romans.

3. The Weekly Offertory (2 Cor. viii. ix.)

We may gather much from S. Paul's writings of the organisation and discipline of the early Church. We can, as it were, see the little community at Corinth assembled in the room of Justus, the first Christian Church in that city (ch. xviii. 7)—the women veiled and keeping silence in the Church; we seem to hear the psalm, or the doctrine, or the wonderful utterances of those who spake with tongues-the loud Amen after the consecration of the Holy Eucharist. We know how the rich were exhorted to relieve the wants of their poorer brethren-how the laity were expected to contribute to the support of the ministry-how every Lord's Day there was an offertory for the poor in Judea. We know, too, something of the discipline of the infant Church, how any who had a dispute with another was exhorted to lay the matter before the Church to decide, and we may learn what was the terrible sentence of excommunication for any who

were guilty of grievous sin (1 Cor. xiv.; xvi. 1-3 ; x. 16 ; v. 3-5; ix. 11-14; vi. 1). There are two whole chapters in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (chs. viii. and ix.) impressing upon the Church the duty of the weekly offertory. To the Churches of Macedonia and Athenia, as well as to those of Asia Minor, S. Paul was never weary of pleading on behalf of the 'poor saints at Jerusalem' (Rom. xv. 26; 1 Cor. xvi. 1). There were many famines in Judea at that time (Acts xi. 28-30), and the Christians there were very poor, no doubt having lost much in the persecutions they had suffered. The Gentile converts were continually reminded that they owed this money to their brethren in Judea, in return for the spiritual blessings they had received from them (Rom. xv. 27), and S. Paul hoped by means of their liberality, to unite the Jewish and Gentile Christians in one bond of love, trusting that the generous gifts sent by the Gentiles to the Church at Jerusalem, might be the means of removing the jealousies and differences which separated them, and of binding them together as one (Rom. xv. 30, 31).

But S. Paul does not only plead for those at a distance; he reminds the rich that they are bound to relieve the wants of the poor (2 Cor. viii. 13-15), he tries to provoke the Corinthians to love and to good works' (Heb. x. 24) by the good example of the Christians in Macedonia, who out of their deep poverty had given generously, beyond their power (2 Cor. viii. 1–3); he reminds them of what CHRIST had done for them (2 Cor. viii. 9), the poverty He endured that we might be rich; he urges that the poor should not be excluded from this privilege of giving to GOD, for the poor man's gift, small though it may be, is often far greater in proportion, and therefore more acceptable to GOD, than the offerings of the rich (2 Cor. viii. 12; S. Luke xxi. 1-4); he bids them remember that those who give the most generously to GoD in this life, will reap the most abundant harvest hereafter (2 Cor. ix. 6; 1 Tim. vi. 18, 19); and exhorts them to give regularly-according to their ability-and willingly,' 'not grudgingly or of necessity,' but out of love to GOD and the poor (1 Cor. xvi. 2; 2 Cor. ix. 7).

4. The last Journey to Jerusalem (Acts xx. 3–5).

S. Paul had now completed the great work given him to do in Asia, Macedonia and Greece. Churches had everywhere been planted and organised in these parts (1 Cor. iii. 6, 10; Rom. xv. 19, 23). He now desired to go further westto visit Rome, and afterwards Spain (Rom. xv. 22-24, 28, 29); but first he must go once more to Jerusalem, to report all that he had done (Acts xxi. 19), and make a final effort to unite the Jewish and Gentile branches of the Church.

For this purpose, he takes with him representatives from various fields of labour as living witnesses of God's favour to the Gentiles (Acts xx. 4), and these would carry with them the alms which were intended as a peace-offering to soften the hearts of the Jewish Christians towards their Gentile brethren (Acts xxiv. 17).

Lessons to be drawn from the Narrative:

1. None are too poor to give to God. Whatever we possess is a loan from Him, and we shall have to account to Him for the use or misuse of every gift and talent entrusted to us. It is the bounden duty of all to set aside a fixed portion of their income, whatever it may be, for charitable purposes. GOD claimed from His ancient people the tenth part of all they possessed: hence the obligation of giving tithes to the Church; but Christians ought to give more abundantly, out of gratitude for the greater blessings they have received (Lev. xxvii. 30; 2 Chron. xxxi. 5, 6, 12; Mal. iii. 10).

2. Our spiritual life must be made up of fresh beginnings. There is always a tendency in us to lower our aim, to relax our efforts to fall into self-pleasing ways-to adopt the standard of those among whom we live, instead of keeping before us the thought of JESUS CHRIST crucified. If such a one as S. Paul found it necessary to exercise self-denial and self-mortification, to keep under his body, and bring it into subjection (1 Cor. ix. 24–27), how can such as we are, expect to win heaven, if we are leading a careless, self-pleasing life?